First All-Grain brew today...

[fuzzybee]

... and hopefully it wasn't a *total* disaster.

I've brewed quite a few extract and partial-mash brews, but this was my first all-grain. I've built a single-tier brewstand over the last 8 or 9 moths, and I was anxious to put it into use. It has two keggles and a 10-gal cooler with a flase bottom.

The recipe I was making was a Boddington's Pub Ale clone. It had 7.75 lb of grain. I added about 8 gallons of 160F water, and let it sit for about ten minutes to preheat. My MLT thermometer read 158G. I drained that out, and replaced it with about 4 gallons of 160F water, and added my grains, stirring. The temperature settled at 146.3F. I added some more 180F water, and the temperature stayed at 146.xF. I added some more 180F water - the cooler read about 7G total between water and grain - and the thermometer came up to 148. I was afraid to added more liquor, so I let that be the starting temp. After an hour, it had dropped to 146.1.

I started my vorlauf, and recirculated about 2 gallons - it was still hazy. I decided to go ahead and transfer to my kettle anyway. I got about 3.5 gallons moved to my kettle. I added more 160F water from the HLT, and drained off until I had about 7 gallons of wort in my kettle. After adjusting for temperature, my gravity at this point was 1.029. I added 1lb of Lyle's Golden Syrup and .5 lb of maltodextrin to my boil. After cooling to ~ 80F, my gravity (adjusted for temp) was 1.0448.

The gravities seem OK for the brew, but it is very hazy. I'm guessing that having too much sparge water had a lot to do with this. *Hopefully* that will clear up in primary.

It was a fun and frustrating day at the same time. Hopefully next time I brew, it will goo a lot smoother.

 

[fuzzybee]

Hmm - Why did this post show up as 7:01AM?

 

[fuzzybee]

I guess my question is this - would me having too mush mash water result in my wort being very cloudy? It appears to be fermenting now, but it's still very opaque. Hopefully a few weeks in the carboy will take care of that.

 

[sendkyleanemail]

Not sure about the haze, but I am told too much mash water can adversely affect the pH of the mash...

 

[mky375]

It's probably just flower from the grains, it will settle out once fermentation is over.

 

[thughes]

Go about your business and forget it even exists for the next 3 weeks. Get back to us and let us know how it looks then.

 

[kingmatt]

Just an FYI, you can pre-heat your mash tun with about a gallon of boiling water if you don't want to waste 8 gallons like that.

 

[fuzzybee]

I plan on just waiting it out. I just want to make sure I don't do the same thing on the next brewday.

I cycled the water back into my HLT after it had been in the MLT, so I didn't waste it. Is it OK to put boiling water in a cooler?

 

[Brandonovich]

Not sure about the haze, but I do have a process recommendation. When adding water to a cooler MLT to raise the temp, use boiling water and use some sort of software to calculate the amount needed. There are a couple free smartphone apps, and Beersmith will do it as well. You really want to watch your water to grain ratio as much as possible, so a single infusion of boiling water will get the temp up faster and limit the amount of water you need to add. I miss my strike temp every time I brew, but it has made my life a lot easier to have a small amount of boiling water handy and be able to raise the temp quickly and evenly.

 

[fuzzybee]

Thanks - I'll have to follow that guideline next time.

Fermentation is definitely chugging along, though.

 

[snowveil]

Personally, I would raise your strike temperature about ten degrees for your next brew...just keep some ice on hand to toss in the mash if you need it. It's a lot easier to bring a mash temperature down a few degrees than to scramble with boiling water to bring it back up.

I'm sure your beer will clear up just fine...so like others have said just wait it out. Your body may be a little thin due to such a low mash temp, but the maltodextrine should help with that.

In any case, congrats on your first AG! it's really not as scary as it seems, is it?

 

[fuzzybee]

Yeah - I think I'm going to try to put in 180F strike water next time. Like you said, it's easier to cool by stirring the mash with the lid off than it is to heat it up.

It wasn't *too* bad of a day. There were definitely some growing pains vs partial-mash. I have two full pages of notes for things to watch / correct next time.

 

[sendkyleanemail]

Notes are good! Very good!

 

[Brandonovich]

The problem with cooling down the mash is that every minute you spend with your mash temp in excess of about 162 degrees, you are denaturing enzymes that you need for the rest of the mash. Also, my experience is that it is more difficult to hit a specific temperature. If you throw some ice in and you hit your temp, but there is still ice melting you are going to go too low and have to heat it up again. Being at too low of a temperature while you are getting some water ready to up your temperature is a lot less harmful than being at too high a temperature.

 

[Tyru007]

I error on the lower side and keep and extra pot of near boiling water on the stove to bring the mash temperature up.